There are a number of foods that are distinctly Philadelphian: cheesesteaks, scrapple, cream cheese, TastyKakes, Herr’s Potato Chips, hoagies, and soft pretzels. I felt like a true Philadelphian (if only for a fleeting 15 minutes) yesterday when I had a fresh soft pretzel with yellow mustard drizzled all over.

Is usually bought from a street vendor or small “mom and pop” shop – seldom from a chain store

Is fresh, soft, and chewy

Comes in a sort of slab in which a number of pretzels are stuck together

Is sprinkled with just the right amount of coarse salt

My pretzel was warm out of the oven and provided an excellent pre-dinner snack. I’ve had Philly soft pretzels before while at Swarthmore, but never fresh ones. Since the pretzels have no preservatives it makes a huge difference eating them when they have just been baked.

And the best part is that three pretzels go for $1. You can also get a single pretzel for 45 cents.